My “green makeover” of all the cosmetics I use on a daily basis is now 98% complete. I finally made the jump to an aluminum free deodorant stick.
I wanted to make my own, using a few recipes I found online (consisting of baking soda and such) but decided that I should limit my experiments to those things that don’t make others around me miserable…not that I am a “dirty” or excessively sweaty person, but Texas summers are not kind…
I went with Nature’s Gate and found a nice, paraben, aluminum free stick deodorant that smells wonderfully of citrus, eucalyptus and tea tree oil…and it cost around $5. More expensive than something generic in the supermarket, to be sure, but not bad!
Also, as far as my “Poo-Free” experiment goes…complete fail. Something to do with how hard our water is and how naturally oily my hair is. By Day 3, I didn’t even need a rubberband to keep my hair in a ponytail (gross, I know).
In an attempt to balance the pH of the hard water (which was a huge part of the problem), I used an apple cider vinegar rinse.
It helped.
But then my hair smelled like vinegar all day. NOT COOL.
After giving it 7 days, which is what I had sworn to do (near the end, Jesse was having to motivate me constantly to stick with it, reminding me of my stubborn resolution to “give it a full week”. Why he wanted a wife with icky hair, I’ll never know…), I got a refund at Central Market and tried out Nature’s Gate Awupuhi shampoo and conditioner for fine hair. LOVE IT. Smells amazing, makes my hair shiny, clean and light. Only $6 (in store) for a huge bottle of each. Totally affordable, and sans any harmful chemicals!
Someday soon, I’ll post a complete list of all the natural products I’ve grown to love. My favorite right now is my almond face cream. My skin literally GLOWS when I use it. I haven’t broken out ONCE in the entire month I’ve been using it! Those of you who have visited us wouldn’t know this, because apparently, having visitors over stresses me out on a deeply subconscious level. Dead serious. The only times my skin has broken out in the last year have been when I’ve gone home to visit family, or when they’ve come to visit us! Apparently, playing the host is just as stressful as taking a baby on an airplane single handedly! Totally worth it, though, just in case you were wondering 😉
The last 2% of cosmetics include replacing my eyeshadow (I only use it occasionally, so it takes me about 2 years to get through it!) and my eyeliner (same story). Perhaps, I could just forgo both! But it is nice to have them for special occasions, so I’ll probably look into it…someday…
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nyx says
I can’t recall if you’ve written about this before or not….but the deodorant salt crystals also work really well. They cost about $9 for a stone that lasts up to two years. I’ve been on the same one for a year now and it looks like I’ve barely used it except for where I dropped it and a chunk fell off…. but yeah, its just salt compounds–no chemicals at all. I found the essential oils of other natural deodorants were too hard on my skin (omg rashes there suck). But yeah, super cheap and works great for LA summers at least if you want a cheaper option. Only things to note is DO NOT use right after shaving…trust me….Shave the night before and then use. 😉
Becks says
That’s totally the same shampoo I use! It’s my favorite! I don’t use the conditioner though – it’s too heavy for my fine hair, and it makes my scalp get oily faster (my hair just feels really “heavy” when I use it, like my hair has no lift at the roots).
I use the tea tree oil conditioner from Trader Joe’s – the tea tree oil is moisturizing AND drying at the same time. It really helps keeping my scalp from getting overdried and thus over-oily. It’s also pretty cheap! Like $3. And also very all-natural.
Kelly says
No way! I use the tea tree oil body wash from Trader Joe’s and I LOVE IT!!! All tingly and great smelling! My mom bought it for me for Christmas– didn’t even know they had a conditioner! I’ll have to buy some next time I’m in CA. I’ve even considered using the bodywash I have as a shampoo, just on smell factor alone!
nyx says
Won’t have to wait to come to Cali for much longer: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localpn/20110503/ts_yblog_localpn/first-dallas-trader-joes-will-open-by-the-end-of-2011
=) First In-n-Out and now Trader Joe’s!